On this date in 1875, the newly reorganized Freethinker Society of Indianapolis, Indiana, met. It had first formed in 1870, when ex-Catholic and German immigrant Clemens Vonnegut Sr., great-grandfather of Kurt Vonnegut Jr., was elected board chairman. From the March 4 minutes: “For this meeting, Mr. Phil. Rappaport will give a lecture about the topic: ‘What do we need?’ and the secretary promised to play music. W. Kothe promised to provide the beer, and C. Koehne explained that he obtained permission from the board of directors of the Turnverein to use the hall for the first meeting of the Freethinkers Society.”
Public domain photo: Clemens Vonnegut Sr., c. 1885
